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> Everyone in this thread is arguing about operating systems and their mobile OS preference... why? It's like football game for geeks, it's not a big deal. It'

by mrtksn 4y ago

> Everyone in this thread is arguing about operating systems and their mobile OS preference... why? It's like football game for geeks, it's not a big deal. It's fun as long as you don't take it too seriously. On a more serious note, I prefer Apple's style of doing things and pray to the gods Android doesn't obliterate Apple's OS. Just last week I got my hands on a Amazon Fire TV, it was cool until the AirScreen app started not working for some reason and my blood started boiling with disgust towards Android and everything it stands for. I'm a huge "Just Works" enjoyer and Android's market share dominance scares me.

yamtaddle 4y ago
I got a Shield to try to save some cash, getting hardware with a good TV interface that could do h.265 decoding. Bugfest and terrible (and goddamn laggy) UI. Ended up on an AppleTV, which is what I should have gotten in the first place I guess. Every time I try to save money by avoiding Apple I end up paying far more for it in jank, lost time, and frustration. I hate how shit my other options are in nearly all of Apple's product categories, because it's not like Apple doesn't screw up constantly, just not enough that I wouldn't be cutting of my nose to spite my face by switching. If others would close the gap I'd feel a lot less uncomfortable with how much power they have.
- mrtksn 4y ago
  I tried a few times over the years saving money by not buying Apple, all ended up in frustration. I hope the competition catches up with Apple because I would love having options even if I stick with Apple.
- acdha 4y ago
  > Every time I try to save money by avoiding Apple I end up paying far more for it in jank, lost time, and frustration. I hate how shit my other options are in nearly all of Apple's product categories This was me recently. Our old TV broke so I bought a new Samsung at Costco. The setup process was ominous: they want you to sign away all of your data to whoever they choose to sell it to, and the only way to get it on the Wi-Fi was to use their setup app which refuses to let you configure the TV unless you give it background high-precision location tracking permission. They lie about that being needed to configure Wi-Fi in response to negative reviews. I set it up before uninstalling the phone app, and fired up Disney+ for my son. Mission accomplished! He makes it like 5 minutes in to Finding Nemo and complains because it’s doing jerky 1-2 fps slideshow mode any time the scene has much motion at all. We switch to Netflix. Same problem. Maybe it’s our normally very reliable Wi-Fi? Nope, everything works great on his iPad and that can even AirPlay to the TV flawlessly. Also it downloaded its software updates at like 500Mbps according to the Eero app so it seems like it would have to be a very selective network problem. The most likely explanation is that Samsung sells 4K TVs with processors which can’t reliably keep up with a complex 4K stream. I see where this is going, and factory reset the TV before blocking it on the Wi-Fi. It’s a beautiful display and I don’t want it turning into e-waste so time to solve problems the American way by shopping. Amazon delivered an Apple TV early the next morning and it’s everything Samsung wants to be when they grow up: the UI is designed by professionals and noticeably more responsive, the setup process is painless, and it can play 4K in any app flawlessly. Now, I know that this is because Samsung put the equivalent of something like a decade-old phone SoC in there while Apple is using an A14 which is basically laptop-class and costs considerably more, but if they want to save money on their BOM they shouldn’t advertise things on the side of the box when their hardware doesn’t support it.
wcfields 4y ago
> Android and everything it stands for. Bloat. Virtually every android everything is so bloated that the underlying chip speed gains are rendered useless.
- mrtksn 4y ago
  I don't know if it is all about the bloat. Even the 3rd party apps themselves seem to be made with less care. This AirScreen app I'm talking about apparently is a paid app(free to install, subscription for some features) that can just stop working on a fresh device and give cryptic error messages that don't help and complete uninstall and re-install doesn't fix it.
Gorbzel 4y ago
Eh, I think it’s somewhat of a big deal because (to stick with your analogy), just like football, it can be all consuming if left unchecked. I’d argue it’s because the anti-Apple zealots are much louder, but even if one disagrees, the result is the same: the comment thread for pretty much every HN post even tangentially involving Apple becomes a platform war. Like you, I prefer Cupertino’s way of doing things and would like to have measured conversations about the same without the BS diatribes from the haters. Impossible to do around here and has been for years.
orionion 4y ago
Don't confuse Amazon "Fire" performance with a "real" Android device. Amazon is subpar in my experience, and is several (many) generations behind. >Amazon began referring to the Android derivative as Fire OS with its third iteration of Fire tablets. Unlike previous Fire models, whose operating system was described as "based on" Android, Fire OS 3.0 was described as "compatible with" Android. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_OS https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_OS
- mrtksn 4y ago
  I'm familiar with "this is not true Android" line. If it was not a derivative but vendor version the solution would have been that I should try Pixel or something which is pure Android. If it was the pure Android, the solution would have been that I should give a try to <BRAND />. That's also why I don't like Android, you can't have it all in a single device. Everyone does something very well but lacks hugely in something else, so for each use case you need a new device. Good Android experience is for the super rich, who can afford all the devices and use the correct one when needed.

by mrtksn 4y ago

yamtaddle 4y ago

I got a Shield to try to save some cash, getting hardware with a good TV interface that could do h.265 decoding. Bugfest and terrible (and goddamn laggy) UI. Ended up on an AppleTV, which is what I should have gotten in the first place I guess. Every time I try to save money by avoiding Apple I end up paying far more for it in jank, lost time, and frustration. I hate how shit my other options are in nearly all of Apple's product categories, because it's not like Apple doesn't screw up constantly, just not enough that I wouldn't be cutting of my nose to spite my face by switching. If others would close the gap I'd feel a lot less uncomfortable with how much power they have.

mrtksn 4y ago
I tried a few times over the years saving money by not buying Apple, all ended up in frustration. I hope the competition catches up with Apple because I would love having options even if I stick with Apple.
acdha 4y ago
> Every time I try to save money by avoiding Apple I end up paying far more for it in jank, lost time, and frustration. I hate how shit my other options are in nearly all of Apple's product categories This was me recently. Our old TV broke so I bought a new Samsung at Costco. The setup process was ominous: they want you to sign away all of your data to whoever they choose to sell it to, and the only way to get it on the Wi-Fi was to use their setup app which refuses to let you configure the TV unless you give it background high-precision location tracking permission. They lie about that being needed to configure Wi-Fi in response to negative reviews. I set it up before uninstalling the phone app, and fired up Disney+ for my son. Mission accomplished! He makes it like 5 minutes in to Finding Nemo and complains because it’s doing jerky 1-2 fps slideshow mode any time the scene has much motion at all. We switch to Netflix. Same problem. Maybe it’s our normally very reliable Wi-Fi? Nope, everything works great on his iPad and that can even AirPlay to the TV flawlessly. Also it downloaded its software updates at like 500Mbps according to the Eero app so it seems like it would have to be a very selective network problem. The most likely explanation is that Samsung sells 4K TVs with processors which can’t reliably keep up with a complex 4K stream. I see where this is going, and factory reset the TV before blocking it on the Wi-Fi. It’s a beautiful display and I don’t want it turning into e-waste so time to solve problems the American way by shopping. Amazon delivered an Apple TV early the next morning and it’s everything Samsung wants to be when they grow up: the UI is designed by professionals and noticeably more responsive, the setup process is painless, and it can play 4K in any app flawlessly. Now, I know that this is because Samsung put the equivalent of something like a decade-old phone SoC in there while Apple is using an A14 which is basically laptop-class and costs considerably more, but if they want to save money on their BOM they shouldn’t advertise things on the side of the box when their hardware doesn’t support it.

wcfields 4y ago

> Android and everything it stands for. Bloat. Virtually every android everything is so bloated that the underlying chip speed gains are rendered useless.

mrtksn 4y ago
I don't know if it is all about the bloat. Even the 3rd party apps themselves seem to be made with less care. This AirScreen app I'm talking about apparently is a paid app(free to install, subscription for some features) that can just stop working on a fresh device and give cryptic error messages that don't help and complete uninstall and re-install doesn't fix it.

Gorbzel 4y ago

Eh, I think it’s somewhat of a big deal because (to stick with your analogy), just like football, it can be all consuming if left unchecked. I’d argue it’s because the anti-Apple zealots are much louder, but even if one disagrees, the result is the same: the comment thread for pretty much every HN post even tangentially involving Apple becomes a platform war. Like you, I prefer Cupertino’s way of doing things and would like to have measured conversations about the same without the BS diatribes from the haters. Impossible to do around here and has been for years.

orionion 4y ago

Don't confuse Amazon "Fire" performance with a "real" Android device. Amazon is subpar in my experience, and is several (many) generations behind. >Amazon began referring to the Android derivative as Fire OS with its third iteration of Fire tablets. Unlike previous Fire models, whose operating system was described as "based on" Android, Fire OS 3.0 was described as "compatible with" Android. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_OS https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_OS

mrtksn 4y ago
I'm familiar with "this is not true Android" line. If it was not a derivative but vendor version the solution would have been that I should try Pixel or something which is pure Android. If it was the pure Android, the solution would have been that I should give a try to <BRAND />. That's also why I don't like Android, you can't have it all in a single device. Everyone does something very well but lacks hugely in something else, so for each use case you need a new device. Good Android experience is for the super rich, who can afford all the devices and use the correct one when needed.